Help...Finished PB Bullet Did Not Fit in Chambers

[Southern Shooter]

I need some help................

In a much earlier thread, http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=113419 , I was considering purchasing a mold for my Ruger SRH Alaskan .454 Casull. I purchased it last Summer but am just now putting it to use. The mold was purchased from Accurate Mold and is a beautiful tool and cast some very nice looking boolits.

Anyway, I had slugged the barrel and chambers before ordering the mold. The barrel measured at .452" and the chamber throats measured at .456". I order the double cavity mold, one PB and the other GC, at .457". I wanted to make sure that when using the PB cavity ( http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-360C-D.png ) that there was a good gas seal preventing leading and loss of velocity.

Well, the finished product, using the Plain Based, would only go about 75%-80% into the chambers. I just assumed all would fit together nicely.

Should I have ordered a different size mold???

Do I need a sizer??? And, if so, what size would I need to purchase???

Could this be a result of my casting method??? i.e., mold temp, lead temp, etc.???

I have used Cast Performance Bullets .452"-335-GC and they fit and performed just fine. I am shooting them at a comfortable 1070 FPS. I also cast bullets with Lee's .452-255-RF PB. They fit well and shoot nicely at 975 FPS.

Sooooooooooo, HELP??????

Thanks

[badgeredd]

I'd try sizing them down a bit until they chamber nicely. Perhaps borrow a couple sizers to reduce the diameter to perhaps .455 or .454. You could and probably should check a fired case to see what it checks and then size to .001 smaller than the case checks. That way you would know exactly what will chamber. I assume you weren't having trouble with leading with the smaller commercial boolits.

Edd

[mpmarty]

Got a micrometer?

[Southern Shooter]

Thanks Badgeredd...good idea.

Mpmarty, yes, I do have a mic.

[Wayne Smith]

Measuring this closely requires the accuracy of a micrometer. If you have one and did measure your chambers accurately then size to your chamber, .456". I assume you pushed a slug through the throats to measure them, if you did not do that, do it before you buy a sizer. This is your controlling diameter, big enough to chamber but larger than your groove diameter.

For example, I shoot .358" out of my Smith 357's because a .359" will barely chamber and I have to push them in. Not conducive to a rapid reload! .358" shoots accurately, so that's my size.

[44man]

Are you crimping so hard that cases bulge below the crimp?
Why .457" boolits?
If groove to groove is .452", you only need .452" to .453". Sure you can go to throat size but WHY? At the most .454" will work.
Fit stuff is overblown. You need a seal in the bore.

[.30/30 Guy]

The wall thickness of the brass varies by brand. You may want to try some other brands of brass. Some of the other guys here will probibly comment on who makes the thinnest brass.

[Southern Shooter]

Are you crimping so hard that cases bulge below the crimp?
Why .457" boolits?
If groove to groove is .452", you only need .452" to .453". Sure you can go to throat size but WHY? At the most .454" will work.
Fit stuff is overblown. You need a seal in the bore.

No, the crimp does not appear to be bulging the case.

.457" was based on the advice that I should go .001" above the chamber throats to insure a good seal which supposedly prevented leading at the throat.

I don't understand that if fit is so overblown why there seems to be a lot of attention focused on it. Especially, as the velocity is pushed upward.

Thanks

[felix]

Boolits within a loaded case should have a ONE thousands clearance in the SMALLEST cylinder. Paint the case with a magic marker and insert into each of the cylinders. Use the FATTEST case you have when loading. Now, that size boolit is what is desired and load adjusted with, leaving the thinnest cases out of the mix. Hopefully, the boolit will be a tight fit through the cylinder exit holes, and each of the exit holes bigger than the barrel grooves. Here is the trick part: soft boolits will expand to meet the exit hole sizes. How much will determine the powder speed and its amount to give the most accuracy over all day ambients you expect the same performance. ... felix

[prs]

You measured the "chambers", which are the holes the loaded rounds occupy in the revolver's cylinder. You did not give the dimension you found. You reported the chamber throats, the portions of the holes in the cylinder just down stream of the above defined chambers as .456" and you reported the barrel groove diameter as .452". All of that taken as reported, its not an ideal set-up. The chambers should accept the loaded rounds with ease adn even a little "jiggle" room is common and not detrimental. The chamber throats should be tighter than the chambers and just slightly larger than the groove diameter; I prefer .453 for .454 lead boolits that feed into .452 barrels. A 454 boolit will push through a .453 throat with only modest pressure from a pencil; that is what I "shoot" for - a nice gradual down sizing as the boolit goes down stream. What I have encountered with new revolvers is that the cylinder throats are too tight, not too loose, and have to be reamed to work with lead in some cases. Too bad you can not ream a bit of material back on yours.

Here is an example by the standards:

http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/454%20Casull.pdf

prs

[Boerrancher]

I will say this, I have a 44-40 in a 66 clone, and If I am not careful about what I am doing with anything other than WW brass a 430 dia boolit will not chamber. Brass mfgs have different thicknesses, and if you have tight chambers to begin with, like the one on my Mod 66, it is no wonder you can't get the rounds to chamber with a 456 or 457 boolit. Heck I could shoot those out of my sharps 45-70. I have shot 457 dia cast out of it in the past with some modest success. Size those boolits back to 453 or 454 max and be done with it.

Best wishes,

Joe

[HangFireW8]

Southern Shooter,

While you may get away with taper crimping in a 45ACP die and sizing the boolit within the case, you really need a sizing die. Lee makes some that fit in a standard press. They are cheaper to get than a whole sizing setup. While they are made for Lee Liquid Alox, you can use them with any kind of lube.

As others have said, if your alloy is soft enough and your powder fast enough, the base of your plain base boolit will expand to fit the bore.

-HF

P.S. When felix replies to a beginner's post, read it 10 times, think about it for a while, then read it again. :)

[44man]

Felix is correct, there is NO reason to make a boolit over throat size.
One of my boolit molds did not come out right and boolits measure .429" to .430" depending on where I measure it.
My throats are .4324" and groove is .430".
The boolits are hard, water dropped to 22 BHN.
I get zero leading in the gun, shoot for a few years between cleaning the barrel.
Yes, I also shoot .432" boolits but I have never seen any difference in any .44 I shoot my boolits from. My friend shoots 1/2" groups at 50 yards with a new SBHH using my "too small" boolit.